1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to umbilical cord clamps and cutters, and more particularly to a combined umbilical cord clamp and cutter for clamping and cutting an umbilical cord in one continuous motion.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of clamps and cutters are known in the art for clamping and cutting the umbilical cords of newborn babies. Perhaps the most common clamp currently used for such purposes is the umbilical cord clamp disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,303, issued to Nolan on Jul. 15, 1980 and assigned to Hollister Incorporated (“the Hollister clamp”). The Hollister clamp comprises a pair of flexible arms joined by an integral hinge to form a generally V-shaped clamp. The interior of each arm has serrations or ridges for grasping the umbilical cord. The free end of one of the arms has a flexible tongue that cooperates with a recess on the free end of the other arm to close the clamp about the umbilical cord. In practice, two Hollister clamps are clamped to the umbilical cord in spaced relation to one another, and the cord is then cut between the two clamps using scissors or a scalpel. One clamp is temporarily left on the baby's navel, and the other clamp is disposed of with the placenta. The Hollister clamp has several drawbacks. First, it takes three separate instruments (two clamps and a cutting tool) to accomplish the process of cutting the umbilical cord using the Hollister clamp. In an alternative practice, one Hollister clamp is frequently used in conjunction with a hemostat, and the cord is cut between the Hollister clamp and the hemostat. If a hemostat is used instead of a second Hollister clamp during the cutting process, the overall procedure is even more cumbersome because the hemostat is typically replaced with a second Hollister clamp after the cord is cut, which adds a fourth instrument. Second, the Hollister clamp does not provide any shield from the splatter of blood when the umbilical cord is cut, which presents a danger of blood-borne pathogens to hospital personnel. Additionally, the Hollister clamp is not aesthetically attractive when left on the baby's navel.
Several combined clamp and cutter devices have been developed that essentially employ the Hollister clamp. An example of one such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,925,052, issued to Simmons on Jul. 20, 1999 (“Simmons”). Simmons discloses a scissor-type device with a cutting blade that receives an assembly comprising a pair of Hollister-type clamps. As the scissors are squeezed together, the blade severs the umbilical cord and the clamp assembly while closing the two clamps on either side of the cut. Although the Simmons device combines the two clamps and cutter into a single tool, it does not solve the problem of the need for a shield to guard against the splatter of blood nor the problem of poor aesthetics. A similar device is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,054, issued to Yeatts et al. on Oct. 19, 1999, which suffers from the same disadvantages.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,938, issued to Jensen et al. on Dec. 16, 1997 (“Jensen”), discloses a disposable device for squeezing and cutting an umbilical cord comprising a pair of clamps that mate with a sliding unit which contains a blade. As the sliding unit closes the clamps, the blade severs the umbilical cord. Again, however, the Jensen device does not have a shield to prevent the splatter of blood, and the clamps are modifications of the Hollister clamp which are not aesthetically appealing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,672, issued to Watson et al. on Oct. 14, 1997 (“Watson”), addressed the problem of the splatter of blood by housing a cutting blade and a circular clamping surface inside a cooperating pair of semi-cylinders joined by a hinge. A similar pair of semi-cylinders with a second circular clamping surface is connected to the first pair of semi-cylinders with a breakable joint. As the two pair of semi-cylinders are closed in clamshell fashion, the clamping surfaces compress the umbilical cord. Thereafter, the blade is depressed to sever the cord, and the semi-cylinders prevent the blood from splattering. Then, the two pair of semi-cylinders are separated by breaking the breakable joint. The pair of semi-cylinders without the blade is left with the baby, and the other pair is discarded with the placenta. Although the Watson device solved the blood splatter problem, the pair of semi-cylinders left with the baby is bulky and aesthetically unattractive. Additionally, although the Watson device was intended to enable one-handed operation, the Watson device presents significant difficulties in the process of depressing the blade and breaking the clamps apart.
Thus, a need exists for a disposable umbilical cord clamp and cutter that prevents the splatter of blood, is easy to operate with one hand, and leaves an aesthetically pleasing clamp on the baby's navel.
As is known in the art, in multi-infant births (i.e., twins, triplets, quadruplets, and so on), the umbilical cords of the various infants are frequently tangled up, sometimes severely so, which makes keeping track of the cord (and placenta) associated with each infant a tedious and time consuming task for delivery personnel. Keeping track of the cord associated with each infant is important because a particular infant may have a blood condition or other characteristic that is not common to the other siblings, and such condition or characteristic typically does not become known until after the infants have been separated from their respective cords and the cord blood from each cord has been sampled and tested. Therefore, before the cords are cut, great care must be taken to identify each cord on each side of the cut so that after the cutting of all the cords it is possible to identify which cord is associated with each infant. This identification process takes precious time, which is of particular concern because multi-infant births are typically carried out by Cesarean section. In a Cesarean section operation, the risk of complications increases as the duration of the operation increases. Therefore, it would be a significant advancement in the art to provide a simpler and more efficient means of identification for multi-infant births.
Additionally, because immediate treatment of certain blood disorders and other diseases is often required or beneficial following birth, early diagnostic information concerning the existence and nature of such blood disorders and other diseases would be highly advantageous.
Further, an improved, safe, and efficient means of taking cord blood samples would also be highly advantageous.